Brandon Jennings

[Indazone]

It's all over the internet. How come nobody here is talking about the top American prep high school guard choosing to play in Europe instead of playing for the Arizona Wildcats? Question is, who is he going to play for and how will this affect others like him? The NBA and the NCAA cannot be to happy about Jennings going over because there are a whole slew of other high school players watching this.

[AFBlue]

I think it's "wait and see" at this point.

If Jennings goes over and absolutely gets man-handled in that league, it'll kill his stock and give others pause about circumventing the college system.

If he goes over there and does decent, then it might be an avenue that a few others take.

Either way, I don't think you'll see a mass exodus of American talent going overseas, if even for one year. Jennings simply didn't want to attend college and thinks he's got the talent to get guaranteed dollars if he waits a year.

Bottom Line: People will watch the situation closely for curiosity's sake, but I don't think it'll spark a major movement in one direction or the other.

[Indazone]

Brandon Jennings, Heading To Europe
Comments (1)
by Stop Mike Lupica on July 9 at 10:01AM
This NY Times article from last night seems to indicate that Brandon Jennings ("The Takeover") is seriously considering the European option. This ESPN article from early this morning confirmed it: Brandon Jennings is skipping college ball to go play in Europe:

"That's a moot point now," [Jenning's lawyer] Valle said. "He's not going to the University of Arizona. Brandon plans on going to Europe."

One of the big issues in play here is that Jennings is from Compton. He's not rich. He's not even middle class. He's poor. His family is poor, unless you count his cousin, also from LA, Marcus Williams, who currently plays for the NJ Nets.

It is suspected that Italian basketball clubs are offering $300,000 for one season overseas. One season that the NBA is requiring him to play elsewhere, either in college, or wherever, before he meets the age requirement to be an NBA player.

Could Jennings have gotten a better deal from Arizona? Well, if he had ended up going there, you can bet that he got paid somehow. But obviously Arizona, presuming they were even offering any under-the-table incentives to go there, can't compete with the strong Euro. $300,000 is less than 200,000 Euros, a small fee for a very talented American player who will draw a lot of attention to whatever Italian club ends up singing him.

The odd thing about it? That Sonny Vaccaro (the shady sneaker company star) is the inspiration:

Jennings said he heard the former sneaker executive Sonny Vaccaro talk about Europe as an option on a radio show, and he and his mother have consulted Vaccaro about it.

And the ESPN article mentions that Vaccaro is going to play a big part in the decision for Jennings, on which club to sign with. In other words, Sonny has gone from being a not-quite-behind-the-scene power in the sneaker wars to recruit high school players, to being a not-quite-behind-the-scene power in a new war - the war between colleges and now European clubs to recruit the top players coming out of high school. The type of player who is only going to go to college for one season, anyway, before declaring himself eligible for the NBA draft.

How much did Bill Walker's infamous knee injury play into this decision? It seems likely it would have happened eventually, anyway, but I have to imagine that Walker, the Dunking God who was a top high school recruit in 2006, losing a season to a devastating knee injury, and falling all the way to the 47th pick in this year's draft, must have accelerated the process of a top high school recruit choosing to go to a European club to insure at least one decent payday. I won't say it's a strong factor, as Bill Walker's situation is a bit unique - he had already had an ACL injury in 2003 - but I do think it play a role, none the less.

"There has to be this pioneer, the individual who has the courage, the ambition to overcome the obstacles that always develop when one tries to do something worthwhile, especially when it is new and different."
-Alfred P. Sloan

The trickle down effect on future prospects is what's really important here. Brandon Jennings is just the pioneer (and believe me, someone was going to do it, sooner or later). The pioneer always determines the future of others in similar situations, based on his outcome - success or failure. Lance Stephenson, from a similar poor background (Coney Island), will be watching. DeMar DeRozan, another possible unqualified (academically) student, might also jump ship to Europe.

Interesting point #2: Calipari, along with a bunch of other college basketball advocates, point out that it is not good for Jennings to play against "more physically dominating competition", and that it could hurt his draft stock.

That made me laugh a bit. Two points: One, going to Arizona (Jenning's preferred college of choice, assuming he even qualified academically) has never really helped anyone's stock. A lot of good pros - Gilbert Arenas, Richard Jefferson, Mike Bibby, Jason Terry etc. - have attended there, but no one has ever really jumped into the top-5 there. I believe (I am not positive) that Damon Stoudemire and Channing Frye, both taken at #7 (both by Isiah Thomas, ironically), are the highest picks from Arizona University.

Secondly, and this is where, if you are a Knicks fan, you should smile a bit to yourself: Keep in mind that the Knicks #1 pick this year, Danilo, as been going toe to toe with that same "physically dominating competition" since he was 16. The same age guys like Jennings were going up against high school students. And Danilo dominated that same competition. He was pretty much the MVP this past season in Italy, at 18 years old. Either Jennings will have just as much success, or Danilo is a far better prospect than a blue-chip high school student like Jennings. I won't pretend to know the answer, but The Takeover spending a year in Italy would go a long way to resolving that question.

Finally, it will be very interesting to see how a street-baller, a guy with an urban game like Jennings - great handle, great passer - fits into the Euro game. Will he lead the team to a title? Will he be on the bench for most games? Will he handle the transition smoothly, or will the culture shock mess him up? If the team does well, will Jennings perhaps consider extending his stay over there, or even play in tournament competition? Perhaps Jennings will be on Team Italia in a future Olympic?

http://www.stopmikelupica.com/2008/07/brandon_jennings_heading_to_eu.php

[DANILO DRASKOVIC]

It's all over the internet. How come nobody here is talking about the top American prep high school guard choosing to play in Europe instead of playing for the Arizona Wildcats? Question is, who is he going to play for and how will this affect others like him? The NBA and the NCAA cannot be to happy about Jennings going over because there are a whole slew of other high school players watching this.

choosing?
no, more like forced because he cant get eligibility

[bdictjames]

Their draft class is weak anyway. Jennings will be a bust.

[BacktoBasics]

I would make the arguement that going overseas would actually help this guy develop over a college program.

They'll pay everything for him. Housing, food, entertainment and a whole host of other shit. Allowing this kid to grow in a good team oriented atmosphere rather than be burdened by the absurd standards and regulations of college sports.

Good for him most of these highly recruited players don't do much in college with their education anyway and for most its a means to an end. This is a much more positive path if your ultimate intention is to play professionally.

[stretch]

I would make the arguement that going overseas would actually help this guy develop over a college program.

They'll pay everything for him. Housing, food, entertainment and a whole host of other shit. Allowing this kid to grow in a good team oriented atmosphere rather than be burdened by the absurd standards and regulations of college sports.

Good for him most of these highly recruited players don't do much in college with their education anyway and for most its a means to an end. This is a much more positive path if your ultimate intention is to play professionally.

I agree. I think going overseas would definitely be better than College to develop yourself if your sole focus is to play basketball.

[The Franchise]

Their draft class is weak anyway. Jennings will be a bust.

Even if he is a bust he will be hundreds of thousands of dollars richer. I sure wish I were that kind of bust.